A coalition of climate campaigners, including the group Extinction Rebellion", have successfully pressured the New York Times into dropping its planned sponsorship of a major oil industry conference.

The green activists call the conference "Oil and Money" a "climate crime scene", and staged several protests outside the paper's New York City headquarters over the summer.

Now in its 40th year, "Oil and Money" is scheduled next month at the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane in London.  Executives from the world's biggest oil companies, senior OPEC leaders, and ministers from fossil fuel-rich Middle Eastern nations are expected to attend.

The New York Times had "decided to end its relationship with the Oil and Money conference" because its subject matter "gives us cause for concern", said a NYT spokeswoman.  The event's co-sponsor, Energy Intelligence, got the word more than a week ago.

"We want there to be no question of our independence or even the potential appearance of a conflict of interest," said the spokeswoman.  "Over the last several years (the NYT) has significantly expanded its reporting on climate change and its impact, as well as broader investigative and explanatory coverage of energy and environmental policy.

"We have a large team focused solely on the topic and in the last year alone we've traveled to every continent to document the effects of a warming planet," the spokeswoman continued.